Minister Of Finance Sri Mulyani Asks DGT To Intervene In Overcoming Soimah's Problems Visited By Tax Debt Collectors

Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (Photo: Instagram @smindrawati)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu), Sri Mulyani Indrawati has received a video from Butet Kartaredjasa containing complaints from artists and singer Soimah Pancawati whose house was suddenly visited by a tax debt collector.

"I asked the @ditjenpajakri team to conduct research on the problems experienced by Mrs. Soimah," Sri said through her official Instagram account @smindrawati in Jakarta, quoted Monday, April 10. He then uploaded a video report containing a complete, detailed, and accurate explanation from his partner at the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Taxes (DJP).

The video contains clarification and explanation from an employee of the Directorate General of Taxes related to the case experienced by Soimah, starting with an apology.

"First of all, we apologize to Mrs. Soimah, if you feel uncomfortable and have an unpleasant experience with our employees," said a female tax employee whose name was disguised in the video.

Then, there are three things that need to be explained by the DGT regarding Soimah's experience, which is considered to be a misunderstanding.

DGT confirmed that until now, no tax employee has ever met Soimah in person.

"First, regarding the 2015 story when Soimah bought a house, following her testimony at the Notary, it is reasonable to suspect that the interacting agency outside the tax office is related to buying and selling assets in the form of houses," he said.

DGT conveyed that even if there was a transaction carried out by KPP Pratama Bantul, it would only be limited to the activities of the value of the house transaction.

"Villations are made to sellers, not house buyers, to ensure that the transaction value reported is in accordance with the provisions, namely market prices that reflect the actual situation," he added.

Second, regarding debt collectors, DGT confirmed that according to the law (UU), the tax office has its own debt collector referred to as the State Tax Confiscation Officer (JSPN). They work by providing a letter of assignment and carrying out clear orders if there is a tax action.

"Mrs. Soimah herself has never been examined by the tax office and there is no tax debt recorded, then why was she visited while carrying a debt collector? Is it true that it is a tax employee? If it is indeed a tax employee, then maybe it is a Tax Appraisal Officer who examines the construction of Mrs. Soimah's pavilion," said the female employee.

Tax officers, he said, even involve professional judges so that they are not arbitrary. So the work is also detailed and old, and not arbitrary. As a result, the value of the building is estimated at IDR 4.7 billion, not IDR 50 billion as Soimah claims. In fact, in his own report, Soimah stated that the pavilion was worth IDR 5 billion.

"It is important to note that the tax officer's conclusions and recommendations have not even been followed up. Then the third, when he was contacted by a tax officer who seemed inhumane, he pursued to immediately report the SPT at the end of March 2023," he explained.

In the chat recording with Soimah, DGT officers are said to only remind Soimah not to be late in paying SPT, because it can be subject to administrative sanctions and instead offers assistance if there are problems in filling in so that it is not too late.

Chats like this are also carried out on all Taxpayers (WP).

"We have traced chats and communication recordings by telephone and Whatsapp, and found that from start to finish, our officers are very polite in conveying it. Even so, even though Mrs. Soimah was late in submitting the SPT, KPP did not send an official warning letter, but instead took a persuasive approach," he said.

In fact, the DGT claims to have tried to contact Soimah and is very open if Soimah and other tax friends want to meet in person. DGT advised that please contact the nearest tax office if you need guidance.

"We will continue to improve services. Thank you for the constructive input and criticism. For a better Indonesia!" closed Sri.